Chapter 21: Interpreting Nightmares

Occasionally, I have nightmares. These nightmares occur regardless of my mood, whether I’m feeling down or unusually cheerful.

Today happened to be one of those occasions.

I dreamt an irrational nightmare where I was being chased, had to protect something, and was burdened with an absurd request from someone.

And in the midst of being left speechless by this irrationality, I woke up.

Upon waking up, the first thing I noticed was an unusual warmth. It was the end of October, as autumn deepened. Mornings and nights were getting chilly, but this was surprisingly warm.

Not even a second later, I felt the sensation of someone being inside my futon and hugging me.

I immediately thought it might be Hina. During cold winters, Hina would sometimes sneak into my futon to share body heat with me. She would hug me like a hot water bottle.

So, at first, I thought it was Hina who had come into my futon.

However, that’s not the case. When I opened my eyes and turned to look, I saw a head of blonde hair right in front of me.

Wait, was Hina’s hair really this color? I thought, still half-asleep. But before I could give it much thought, I turned to face it, and there was Nina-chan.

“Hmm?”

Although the room had two futons laid side by side, one of them was now empty, while Nina-chan was somehow in mine.

Why?

“Ah, good morning, Itsuki.”

“…Yeah, good morning.”

With a friend in my futon. Moreover, it was a girl. This was an unprecedented situation in my life. I was fully awake now, unlike Nina-chan, who still looked sleepy with her eyes half-closed.

Despite looking sleepy, she didn’t make any move to separate from me.

“Nina-chan, how long have you been in my futon?”

“It was cold…”

I wasn’t sure if that counted as an answer, but that was what Nina-chan replied.

“Itsuki is warm.”

“Huh? Yeah, thanks… I guess?”

I wasn’t sure if that was even a response.

While I was pondering this, Nina-chan suddenly woke up, sat up, and let out a deep sigh.

“I slept while talking with Itsuki.”

“You didn’t have any bad dreams?”

“No, I didn’t. Thank you.”

Nina-chan smiled and nodded in response to my question.

That would be fine.

Though I ended up being used as a substitute for a stuffed animal, as long as Nina-chan could sleep well, it was all good.

As Nina-chan got up and began folding her futon, she let out a deep sigh. 

At that moment, three fairies appeared at Nina-chan’s feet.

They were all small, not much bigger than our knees, with stick-like arms and legs and no distinct facial features. Instead, they wore oversized brown hoods, and you could see brown boots peeking out from under them.

These were the “Brownies” that Nina-chan had summoned.

They were known for their strength and often helped out with various tasks.

“Could you take care of that for me?”

“”Sure.”””

With their featureless faces, or maybe they were females, the Brownies replied. Nina-chan then picked up the futon she had brought from the guest room and left my room.

I assumed they would tidy up Nina-chan’s room.

“How about we have breakfast, Nina-chan?”

After seeing them off, I invited Nina-chan.

As we made our way to the living room, I had completely forgotten the content of the nightmare I had seen.

Once we had breakfast, I went out to the garden to get some exercise.

By “exercise,” I meant practicing close combat.

It was my routine on days off.

My training involved attaching a model of “Silvate,” a conduit thread, and turning it into a puppet to fight against myself. Although I had been doing it for a while, I hadn’t had the opportunity to fight monsters with just my bare hands or weapons, so it had become more of a routine.

However, I never thought about quitting because I never knew when I might be thrown into a space where I couldn’t use magic again.

I swung the simulated sword wielded by the puppet, dodged its attacks, and countered. The difficult part was that since I was fighting against myself, I tended to subconsciously hold back.

Even though it was a simulated sword, it was made of wood. It could still hurt if it hit me, and if It hit too hard, I might need healing magic.

Normal people would naturally avoid being hit by something like that, and I wasn’t foolish enough to intentionally attack myself.

However, that didn’t mean I would go easy on myself.

The purpose of this training was to become stronger. It was never about making myself feel comfortable while exercising.

As I was thinking about these things, Nina-chan, who was sitting on the veranda, murmured softly.

“Itsuki, you’re really good at moving like that.”

“I’ve been doing it since I was little.”

While saying that, I faced the model again.

The end is always the same.

It’s the moment when I’m absolutely sure I’ve landed the finishing blow on the monster.

“Hmm? Maybe I should give it a try too,” 

“Huh? Nina-chan you too?”

“What’s wrong? Am I not allowed?”

“Well, it’s not that you’re not allowed, but…”

No, of course, she could try if she wanted to.

I thought that, but I couldn’t quite picture Nina-chan moving her body.

In physical education classes, boys and girls were often separated into different groups or, even in the same sport, divided into different groups. So, I might not have seen Nina-chan in action.

Moreover, there was a premise to close combat – the use of “Body Enhancement” magic to counter monsters’ superhuman strength.

However, I had never seen Irena-san or Nina-chan using these spells.

So, I asked Nina-chan, “Is there body enhancement in ‘Fairy Magic’?”

“Yes, there is. It’s called ‘Support Buff.'”

“Buff?”

I never thought I’d hear that word outside of games.

As I frowned, Nina-chan continued, “It’s this magic.”

With that, a fairy appeared at Nina-chan’s feet.

Should I count it as a creature or as a person?

After all, the upper body was human, a female at that. But the lower body was different. It was a fish.

In short, it was a mermaid.

“This one is called a siren…”

“I’ve heard of this one before.”

She swam through the air as if she were in water, smiling mysteriously.

She smiled, but… it wasn’t very graceful.

After all, the appearance of the siren looked about ten years old.

So, when the mermaid opened her mouth while swimming and began to sing…

With a voice as clear as if a single drop of water had fallen onto a calm water surface, I felt a quiet, powerful energy welling up from within my body.

I could describe it as lighting a match within my body.

A heated power spread from the depths of my abdomen.

“Is this…?”

“You know what it is, right? It’s ‘Body Enhancement.'”

Nina-chan said proudly.

I stretched my arms and legs to confirm the sensation.

Unlike the enhancement using “Silvate,” it felt like my entire body was being uniformly strengthened.

As a result, the enhancement at one specific point might be weaker, but… it seemed that the balance of this enhancement was superior.

“How is it? Pretty amazing, right?”

Nina-chan asked, puffing out her chest.

I nodded deeply in response, then asked, 

“It’s amazing, but does this mean your body is enhanced too, Nina-chan?”

“Yes. All exorcists within hearing range of the singing get enhanced.”

…Isn’t that incredibly convenient?

Enhancement through “Silvate” was precise, affecting only myself. However, it seemed that Fairy Magic was quite different. It looked very convenient, and I was envious.

After showing me this new magic, Nina-chan smiled and made a request.

“Then, Itsuki, since it’s an opportunity, teach me how to fight.”

“Sure. First, let’s start with how to move your body.” 

I said this and turned to face Nina-chan.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter